Public Water Supply District No. 1, which serves the city of Arnold, has purchased property to build a second water tower.
Erin DeVore, PWSD No. 1 executive director, said the district paid $650,000 for 8.37 acres at 2003 Richardson Road. The property is along southbound I-55 and is behind the Circle K gas station and McDonald’s restaurant.
PWSD No. 1 bought the land from the Drury Development Corps.
“We are very grateful for how easy it was to work with Drury Development,” DeVore said. “It felt like they really cared about the community and getting us this property, so we could put in the aerial tower. I’m very appreciative that they were a company that put community first and worked with us. It was very professional, and we were able to do it quick without any big issues and hurdles. It was a very smooth process.”
DeVore said board members voted 4-0 on July 1 to purchase the property. Board member Diane Diffey was not at the meeting.
DeVore said PWSD No. 1 hopes to start building the new water tower next year.
“There are a lot of variables that need to be taken into consideration, and we are early in the process right now,” she said. “I can’t give a good accurate timeline for it.”
DeVore said the new tower will be similar to the existing water tower in Arnold, which is off Michigan Avenue near I-55 and Hwy. 141.
She said the district is still determining how much water the new tower will store. The current tower holds about 1 million gallons of water.
DeVore also said PWSD No. 1 is planning to purchase another property to build an additional ground storage tank in the city.
“We are looking at different size options as far as what makes the most sense for our district,” she said. “It could be a million-gallon or 2-million-gallon aerial tank and then a million-gallon or 2-million-gallon ground storage tank. We are working through those numbers.”
DeVore said the site for the new tower is an ideal location for an elevated tank, and the district wants to build the new water tower to help maintain water pressure.
“The pressures of our system are all maintained off the water level of the existing tower,” she said. “(A second water tower) will add a backup, so if we have some issues with the existing tower or if it goes down for maintenance, we are not fully relying on the pressure from Missouri American Water to keep us in a safe pressure area of our system.
“Having a second tower ensures that if something happens with the other tower or we have water going down, we maintain those pressures by the level of water in the other tower.”
PWSD No. 1 purchases all of its water from Missouri American Water.
DeVore said PWSD No. 1 currently stores about 2 million gallons of water a day between the existing water tower and a 600,000-gallon ground tank off Lonedell Road and a 400,000-gallon ground tank off Tenbrook Road.
She said the city uses about 2.4 million gallons of water per day. PWSD No. 1 had 7,738 customers last year.
DeVore said PWSD No. 1 expects to pay about $5.6 million to purchase property and build the new water tower and ground tank. She said the district will not hold off on building the water tower to build it and a new ground tank together.
“We are trying to be as proactive as possible,” she said. “I don’t want to push anything off and wish it would have gotten done sooner. I feel like we need to get the additional storage in. We want to make sure that the water is safe, good to go and we are prepared for any critical issues.”
DeVore said the district has been planning to add water storage facilities since a facility report was completed in 2024.
She said the facility report analyzed the water system, potential growth, storage and reliability of the water source and other aspects of the district. She said the report plotted a 20-year plan to keep the district up to date.
DeVore also said the district started moving quicker to add water storage after a tornado ripped through Arnold in March 2025.
“Everything was in the works when the tornado hit in 2025, but the tornado kind of solidified this is why this is needed,” she said. “We made it through the tornado without major issues. We didn’t have to do boil orders or lose pressure, but we had some stressful days. We were making sure we had the pressures there and the water was available. There is a lot of stuff that happens behind the scenes for water to come to people’s homes.
“That water that comes through the faucet that is safe to drink comes with a lot of things you have to do. That is why we went out with the COP because we have a lot of things that we need to upgrade to solidify our future to continue to provide safe and reliable water service for Arnold. It is to make sure what we do today works decades from now.”
Funding
PWSD No. 1 is paying for the additional storage facilities with money from an $18 million certificate of participation loan that was secured in December.
DeVore said the loan is similar to a lease-purchase agreement and does not require a vote by district residents as a bond issue would.
DeVore said the district will repay the loan with money from its capital improvement fund. She said PWSD No. 1 is expected to pay about $1.7 million per year to repay the loan.
DeVore said the loan will need to be paid off by July 2040, and it is projected to cost a total of $24,392,000. However, PWSD No. 1 may pay off the loan by August 2034.
She said the district collected $5,496,000 in revenue and spent $4,700,709 last fiscal year.
The district previously used $2 million from the COP loan to buy 1.09 acres that was the home of Best Auto Inc., 2120 Michigan Ave., and another 0.58 acres, 2116 Michigan Ave., next to the larger property. DeVore said the district purchased the land from Best Investments.
The district will convert the Best Auto building into a storage facility for its vehicles, equipment and supplies, and it plans to build office space next to the building.
DeVore said the Best Auto building is 7,260 square feet, and the district is still determining the size of the new office space. PWSD No. 1’s current office is at 2970 Schneider Drive off Tenbrook Road next to the Arnold Athletic Association’s fields, and its vehicles, equipment and supplies are stored at the water tower property.
DeVore said the district hopes to begin construction at the Michigan Avenue location in March 2027.
“We are still going through the design phase,” she said. “We are getting everything ironed out. We may be able to move into the new facility by the end of 2027.”
Rates
DeVore said the loan should not change PWSD No. 1 rates. The district charges a minimum of $25.75 per month for up to 2,000 gallons of water.
PWSD No. 1 charges $9.47 per 1,000 gallons of water for customers who use between 2,001 and 10,000 gallons per month; $6.70 per 1,000 gallons for between 10,001 and 100,000 gallons per month; $5.80 per 1,000 gallons for between 100,001 and 500,000 gallons per month; and $4.40 per 1,000 gallons for more than 500,000 gallons per month.
However, PWSD No. 1 rates may be affected by Missouri American Water’s request to the Missouri Public Service Commission for new rates to support about $1.6 billion in water and wastewater system investments planned from June 2025 through May 2028. Missouri American Water filed the request on July 1.
If approved, Missouri American Water estimates the average customers in St. Louis County who use 5,900 gallons of water per month will see their bill increase by $23 per month, while customers elsewhere using 4,500 gallons of water per month will see their bill increase by $15 per month.
Missouri American Water serves 1.7 million customers across 30 Missouri counties, including most of St. Louis County and parts of St. Charles and Jefferson counties.
DeVore said PWSD No. 1 purchased 680 million gallons of water for $2,731,888 last year from Missouri American.
“I always hope to keep rates the same,” she said. “We are under whatever the PSC approves and their decision with Missouri American Water and what Missouri American Water does with our water rates.”